DESCRIPTION (Abstract of the Core) The overall objectives of the tissue culture core have been the following: preparation of pancreatic acini and short-term cell cultures; 2) establishment, characterization, and maintenance of permanent cell lines; 3) performance of in vitro bioassays that are essential for the study of metabolism and effects of gut peptides; and 4) performance of biochemical assays that are essential for studying the effects of hormones and other agents on the growth and apoptosis of cells in vitro and in vivo, measurement of polyamines, cell cycle analysis, etc.